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Apocalypse Zero, also known as Kakugo no Susume, is a manga by Takayuki Yamaguchi and two-part OVA from The '90s. It revolves around two siblings, Kakugo and Harara, who are given Kamen Rider-esque suits of Powered Armor that let them defend post-apocalyptic Tokyo from demons and mutants. After Harara succumbs to the evil within the armor, it is up to Kakugo to defeat his sibling.

This work, officially described as a "self-indulgent manga", was Yamaguchi's first long series, and it was published from July 1994 to August 1996.

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Adaptational Attractiveness: The manga mentions a lot that Tsumiko is overweight, while the OVA does not, although it still retains her insecurity about her beauty. Not that this changes much her character design (see Informed Flaw below).

Adaptational Jerkass: Mildly. In the OVA, Kakugo slaps Megumi (whom he believes to be a recent rape victim!) in midst of her seduction attempt because he considers it an indecorous behavior. In the manga, he pushes her away instead, and he does it because she was placing her bare ass in his kitchen sink.

Adaptational Wimp: The OVA has an original scene where Mr. Zenigata cowers when threatened by Haoka. In the manga, Zenigata's perpetually collected demeanor would make this unlikely. In fact, he even taunts Haoka while the latter is forced to work to clear the rubble of the Eikichi attack.

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After the End: The series is set in and around Tokyo after a series of powerful earthquakes ravaged human civilization.

A Father to His Men: Compared to most villains, Harara has an unusual love and appreciation for his minions, being forgiving of their mistakes and grateful for their sacrifices. He genuinely cares for the lives and wellbeing of the monsters under his command. He's not quite Affably Evil to people in general, but a homicidal mutant horror couldn't possibly ask for a better boss.

Kakugo: My appearance is of little consequence in the end. My duty is to win at any cost. My scarred flesh will be proof of my victory!

Barbie Doll Anatomy: Kakugo doesn't show any... equipment when he fights nude with the Steel Balls technique (No Pun Intended, probably), though some faraway shots here and there do show him anatomically correct. Totally averted with some monsters, though.

Bears Are Bad News: In the beginning of the anime (and Chapter 11 of the manga), Kakugo and Harara have to fight a mutated, radioactive bear with caustic blood... which has several pairs of giant breasts, for some reason.

Big Bad: Harara, or rather the grudge of Mei Inukai that lived in the Kasumi armor.

Camp Straight: In the OVA, Haoka is a rather flamboyant dude and speaks with a girl's voice despite his delinquent status. This is only hinted in the manga, where he occasionally yells in a girly manner when scared.

Cosy Catastrophe: Tokyo is basically ruined and has large sections of terrain where buildings just collapsed. However, it seems basic infraestructures are still functioning, such as Kakugo's high school, and school life itself has changed relatively little beyond the apparition of punks and gangs (and monsters). It's also mentioned that there are better districts in Tokyo, even with a functional police to boot.

Full-Frontal Assault: Kakugo and Rai do it a lot due to their Steel Balls technique, which renders his body metallic while their clothes remain completely vulnerable to Clothing Damage. Also, for unrelated reasons, the mind-controlled Tsumiko fights Kakugo in the nude after having been groped by Chidokuro.

Gag Penis: Some of the "Tactical Fiends/Evils" have mutated attack genitals. This is shown best by Eikichi, whose groin is an entirely different creature, the dragon-like 'Weenie'.

Gorn: Apocalypse Zero has been called the most vile anime ever made, and not without very good reason. The very first bit after the titles has a woman being killed via being squeezed to death and vomiting her guts all over her boyfriend. And the kicker? The anime is actually tamer than the manga.

Grossout Show: It features a constant stream of Ludicrous Gibs and heavily sexualized yet seriously monstrous villains, and its art style is made to maximize all the grotetesqueness.

Happy Ending: No, really. Harara ultimately decides to tolerate the existence of humans, find room for them in his vision of a healthy new Earth and uses his powers to bring all of his dead allies back to life, finally making peace with the humans. Surprisingly Happy Ending taken to another level.

Hoist by His Own Petard: Harara suffers this as a result of his own lack of forward planning, when he decides to merge his life-force with that of the last Tactical Evil he sent out, being Eikichi. However, Eikichi is already slowly dying from blood loss after being beaten almost to a pulp by Kakugo. This strategy works reasonably well for a time, but Harara ignores the fact that any injury Eikichi's body sustains will ultimately affect him as well. Once Eikichi's body dies and begins undergoing rigor mortis, Harara is left severely weakened by his host's ruined body, and quickly ends up in a coma after Kakugo gets the upper hand and destroys the corpse of Eikichi.

Idiot Ball: Harara, right after Kakugo beats all the demons that are thrown at him. Instead of going out and fighting Kakugo himself, Harara decides to possess the body of the last demon that he sent via a machine. The problem is that 1) Harara was told that any damage the demon's body takes will be transferred onto him, 2) the demon's body is stiffening due to rigor mortis, limiting Harara's movements, and 3) it was established that Harara was a better fighter then Kakugo and could more then enough take him in a full match. But no, Harara decides this is the best option. End result, Kakugo beats the demon's body silly and finishes by punching its head off, sending Harara to a series-long coma. Yeah.

Informed Flaw: In the manga, Tsumiko is constantly referred as being overweight and not very beautiful. Despite this, she has pretty much the same character design as just every other female her age (she is somewhat thicker, but this is only visible whenever she's undressed and there's another nearby female character to compare), and her face and hair are drawn with a more flowery style than most of them. Tellingly, the OVA doesn't even bother to mention it.

Jerkass with a Heart of Gold: A lot of characters, including Mr. Zenigata (who is a douchebag most of the time but secretly admires the students's resolution to live), the school principal (a perverted stalker who nonetheless is willing to give his life for a single student), Haoka (who is a bully, but also brave and loyal) and even Kakugo himself (as he can be very unempathic in his personal relationships, but ultimately means well).

Mildly Military: The Hagakure family retains some Japanese Imperial military imagery even although they are civilians. Justified because many of their traditions were invented by the defunct Imperial military.

Mood Whiplash: Kakugo is such a boy scout that he's in shocking contrast to his enemies, which are disgusting mutants with terrible puffy Gonk faces and oozing with Fan Disservice. His heroic speeches are better than anything you'd hear out of a standard superhero show... It's just weird.

Naginatas Are Feminine: When Tsumiko jokes about wishing to know Karate to be as badass as Kakugo, he comments that hand-to-hand fighting is unfit for women and that naginata training would be better for them, presumably because women have usually less muscle strength and would benefit more from a weapon than bare hands.

Named After Somebody Famous: Takayuki Yamaguchi is a huge fan of the legendary anime and tokusatsu singer (and occasional voice actress) Mitsuko Horie, so much that he named Tsumiko Horie after her note Tsumiko is a rearrangement of Mitsuko, and naturally Mitsuko Horie ended up voicing her in the anime version. You can note it in the times Horie starts singing for no reason other than to showcase her seiyu's talent.

Pragmatic Adaptation: The OVA series alters the order of appearance of the Tactical Fiends in order to create a climax with Eikichi in the second episode.

Pronoun Trouble: Harara has a female body after merging with his armor, Kasumi, but is still referred to by male pronouns. Some of the art implies he is meant to be a hermaphrodite whose nether regions are censored, though.

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